EU's 'Earth Overshoot Day' Arrives Early: Urgent Call for Sustainable Resource Policies
April 28, 2025
Portugal is scheduled to deplete its annual resources on May 5, 2025, which is significantly earlier than its exhaustion date in 2024.
The Global Footprint Network will announce the global Earth Overshoot Day on June 5, 2025, coinciding with World Environment Day.
The trend of earlier Earth Overshoot Days reflects a growing urgency for sustainable policies to address resource consumption in the EU.
This year's Earth Overshoot Day for the EU falls five days earlier than last year's date of May 3, indicating a concerning trend in resource consumption.
Spain is set to exhaust its resources on April 23, 2025, showcasing a disparity in resource consumption among countries.
On April 29, 2025, the European Union will reach its 'Earth Overshoot Day', marking the point at which it begins consuming resources beyond its annual capacity.
The Global Footprint Network highlights that if the global population consumed like the EU, we would need three planets to meet the demand for resources, despite the EU comprising only 7% of the global population.
In light of these unsustainable consumption patterns, over 300 civil society organizations have urged policymakers to pursue a climate-neutral and nature-positive economy.
In contrast to the EU, countries like Uruguay and Indonesia demonstrate more sustainable practices, with Uruguay not exhausting its resources until December 17, 2025.
Countries with smaller ecological footprints, such as Uruguay and Indonesia, have significantly later exhaustion dates compared to the EU.
Qatar was the first country to exhaust its resources in 2025, doing so on February 6, followed by Luxembourg on February 17 and Singapore on February 26.
The United States depleted its resources on March 13, while Denmark and Australia did so on March 19, and France followed on April 19.
Summary based on 4 sources